Creation of St Monica’s Mandala

posted in: Lesotho, St Monica, The mandala

In order to start vegetable production on St Monica farm, in the middle of the dry season, we chose to start cultivation on a Mandala. It is a garden in the shape of a flower, the petals of which are designed according to the principle of raised beds cultivation.

The petals were dug 30cm deep. The branches recovered during the clearing of the land were placed first, to form the first carbon material layer.

After a layer of soil, green branches  cut from a large tree (nitrogen), formed the second layer.
The operation was repeated several times, using increasingly fine branches and faster-decomposing materials. On the upper layers, manure has also been added.

In the end, its a magnificent mandala, with petals raised by about fifteen centimeters and ready to welcome the first seedlings of the farm !

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